A few years ago, there were 3 tools for diagnosing network problems: Network Utility (gone in Big Sur), Wireless Diagnostics, and Network Diagnostics (also gone). And what can networkQuality tell you about Private Relay?
troubleshooting
Automatic Time Machine backups aren’t scheduled to run at precise times, but when it’s convenient. This explains how, and what to do if goes wrong.
We used to reset the Desktop, the SMC, and NVRAM, install the Combo updater, or perform a clean install. Now there’s only Safe mode left.
Many of us keep an emergency external drive at the ready by our Mac, in case we need to use it to recover from problems. What’s the equivalent for Apple silicon?
How to use First Aid in Disk Utility to check and repair APFS storage, whether it’s part of your boot disk, or general storage.
Although your Mac may be unable to boot into macOS, it might be able to start up in Recovery, or offer its internal SSD in Target Disk Mode.
Multiple requests for a keychain password, login password mismatch, broken keychains, expired certificates, and using the Data Protection keychain.
Repairing permissions has a long history in Mac OS X. The permissions concerned have changed over the years, and it’s no longer what it once was.
Still very useful procedures for Intel Macs, resetting the SMC within a T2 chip is more complex. Used wisely they can resuscitate a failing Mac.
When should you turn iCloud off to try to solve syncing problems? What use is a Content Caching server? What tools can help diagnose and fix problems?
The Eclectic Light Company 